Dorothy Fagan Signature
Daily Painting Journal

Dream Paint Flourish
 May 15, 2009
Greetings!

   Most days are plain get-it-done work days. Others are days when we take time to rest and rejuvinate ourselves.

   Today is a different kind of day than I have experienced before. Today I woke with a rested sense of peace and a feeling of connectedness to all things.

   I woke knowing it was time to write about a gift which I received from Allie, my dog. She gave it so selflessly and all the while she was instilling her gift upon me, I had no concept until this morning what it was or the profound impact it might have.

   My Daily Painting Journal is dedicated to Allie. I hope you will be inspired by her story as much as I have been in writing it.
 
Warmly,

Dorothy Fagan
 
Allie's Gift
A Little Dog with a Big Gift
Portrait of Allie
I lost my little dog Allie two weeks ago today. I painted her portrait on the day she died. It is how I knew it was time to let her go. What I never imagined was that in painting it Allie was giving me a magnificent gift, not only the painting itself ~ but an entirely new way of approaching my art.

The day before she died, Allie got stuck in the pond trying to get a drink. Her back legs gave out on her and Jim had to rescue her.

CONTINUE READING
 
In This Issue
Allie's Gift
Solomons Island Event
4 Ways to Tell if an Oil Painting Needs Varnish
Solomons Paint the Town
May 14 ~ 17       Exhibition & Wet Painting Sale ~ Sunday May 17

My painting of the Oyster House
I am participating in this four-day plein air painting event this weekend. I started painted here yesterday. Already the experience has transformed my approach to my art. I have written about my experience of painting the Oyster House yesterday in the article titled Allie's Gift.

Sunday (May 17) will be the culmination of the event with an exhibition and sale of paintings by thirty artists participaing in this event. I invite you to join me at Ann Marie Gardens on Dowell Road in Solomons, MD all day Sunday for that event. The exhibition is being held in the lovely exhbit building in the Gardens there from 10 am til 5 pm.  For more information about the show, visit their website.
 
4Ways to Tell if an Oil Painting is Properly Varnished
CARE OF OIL PAINTINGS

Waiting for Spring, plein air oil paintingVarnish protects an oil painting from dust, pollen, smoke and other environmental soiling. When a painting dries, various pigments dry differently causing the painting to look uneven. If a painting is varnished properly, its colors will look as they did when the artist painted it ~ with fresh, distinctive colors and a smooth even finish.   READ MORE>
 
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